


The Obligatory Onsen Episode

by 15Strawberries



Series: Voltron Rare Pair Week [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Future Fic, Multi, PTSD, Paladin cuddle pile, Voltron Rarepair Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 02:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9798398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/15Strawberries/pseuds/15Strawberries
Summary: Fifteen years after they first left Earth, the paladins of Voltron finally get a vacation





	

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning, although there's nothing explicit in here, this does have everyone in a hot spring together, and it's pretty darn sensual at the end.
> 
>  
> 
> . . . also I'm mean to Pidge.

Shiro didn’t know what kind of favors Allura had cashed in to pull this off, but he definitely wasn’t complaining.

After fifteen years of almost constant warfare, of liberating planets, forging alliances, establishing governments to replace the ousted Galran governors, of being the first line of defense of the fledgling Voltron Alliance against the might of Zarkon’s empire . . . .

The paladins of Voltron were finally getting a vacation.

“Oh my God,” Lance said, dropping his bags on the ground as he stared up at the “luxury resort hotel" Allura had booked for them and the mountain rising up behind it, “This is a hot spring. Allura got us a stay at a hot spring.”

“Nah,” Hunk disagreed, shading his eyes against the sun as he examined the building, “Really?”

“Look at it dude! It looks just like the animes!”

“Just because it looks like a hot spring doesn’t mean it is one.” Pidge said, pointedly ignoring the ‘animes’ comment. She had gone whole hog on the vacation look, with a wide, floppy hat, sunglasses, cut-off shorts and a tee shirt.

“It’s not like any of us have actually been to a hot spring before,” Keith pointed out. He was wearing his usual undercover outfit, his only concession to civilian sensibilities the fact that he'd hidden his knife up his sleeve instead of wearing it openly. “We wouldn’t know,” He gave Shiro a curious look, “Shiro? What do you think?”

Shiro wanted to say no. In spite of the architecture (wooden beams, plaster walls and wide, covered porches) and the location (a mountain covered in blue trees) and various other details that conspired to remind him of the resort towns he’d visited as a child (they’d passed a couple down in the town that he’d sworn had been wearing yukata, of all things) that didn’t mean it was an onsen. The universe was a vast and varied place, and coincidences or not, there was no way that this was actually a--  
Then the breeze shifted, carrying the smell of steam and the faintest trace of sulfur, “Yup, it’s an onsen.”

“Hah!” Lance cheered, “Told ya!”

“Seriously?” Pidge asked, incredulous.

“That can’t be a coincidence,” Keith said darkly.

“Coran already vetted the place, remember? We know it’s safe.” Hunk paused, “Well, as safe as an isolated building on a dormant volcano can be. Can we go somewhere else?”

“Aww, come on Hunk this’ll be great!” Lance exclaimed, clapping Hunk’s shoulder, “Besides, when was the last time you had a bath? A real bath, not that infrared thing in the castle.”

Hunk groaned, eyes glazing over. He wasn’t the only one.

“Hot water.” Keith breathed.

Shiro sighed wistfully. “That sounds really nice.” He admitted. Ultrasonic sterilizers and infrared saunas just weren’t the same as soaking in until your fingers turned into prunes.

Pidge shifted her bag to her other shoulder. “Let’s go,” she said, “Come on. The sooner we get checked in, the sooner we can take a bath.”

* * *

 

  
Shiro had to give the receptionist credit for hir professionalism. The five of them weren't exactly the safest looking bunch. Even Pidge, usually deemed the least threatening by dint of being the smallest person in a room, looked like she could break the willowy alien over her knee. But the receptionist's only reaction to their scarred, heavily muscled group walking up to the desk was widened eyes and a slight tremor in hir voice when xe informed them that a private cabin a little further up the mountain had been reserved for them and that a guide would arrive presently to show them the way.

The guide, on the other hand, had argued with the receptionist while the rest of them sat on a couch in the lobby and pretended not to listen. The phrase 'I'm not getting paid enough to be eaten by blood-thirsty aliens!' had been uttered and Shiro was inclined to be offended on behalf of his team. They weren't _that_ scary.

. . . okay yes they were. Still, there was no need to be rude.

Finally, the guide had been threatened sufficiently, and led them up the mountain, trudging slowly like she was going to her own execution.

Keith, of course, had no patience for such dramatics, and went jogging ahead to scout the path while Lance and Hunk charmed the guide into relaxing.

 _"Everyone, you better come see this."_ Keith's voice crackled over the comms.

"Problem?" Shiro asked, putting a hand to his ear as Hunk tried to sooth their startled guide.

 _"Local fauna. Only got a glimpse but it looked like something we should ask about."_ _  
_

"Got it. We'll be there in five." Shiro dropped his hand, then raised his eyebrows at the guide, who was staring at him apprehensively, "Any chance we could pick up the pace?"

They found Keith kneeling next to a stretch of red mud, studying a four-toed paw print with worrisomely large claws. He glanced up at the guide, "You recognize this?"

The guide brightened, "That's an Altean _klan'mewrl_ !" She exclaimed, "Very rare. The Galactic Zoological Association introduced them on our planet just a few years ago."

The rest of them turned to Pidge.

"Clan . . . mural?" Lance tried.

Pidge shrugged, "Basically a bear. Pretty cute, just don't make them angry."

Bears.

Shiro let out a harsh bark of laughter, then clapped a hand over his mouth to keep any more from escaping. Keith shot him a concerned look, but Shiro waved him on.  
They continued up the mountain, Shiro trailing slightly behind and still trying to muffle his snickering.

Bears. They had to watch out for _bears_ .

If this place got any more like home, he was going to cry.

* * *

 

  
The cabin was nice. _Really_ nice, even by Lance's luxurious standards. Huge picture windows, a fireplace in the common area, individual rooms with enormous beds covered in a ridiculous number of pillows, a fancy kitchen and a food preserver filled with 'Earthling delicacies' like spam and dippin' dots ice cream and canned soup, as well as some local staples. Shiro thought Hunk was going to start bawling then and there.

The guide stayed just long enough to give Shiro a map to their private outdoor hot spring (super fancy, Shiro was getting more impressed by the minute) and a schedule of events being hosted down at the main hotel before beating a hasty retreat.

Shiro waited until everyone had finished bringing their bags in before turning to his team, "Alright let's get started. Lance--"

"Sniper perches, got it." Lance grinned and touched two fingers to his forehead in salute.

"If you're going on the roof make sure you've got someone to spot you," Shiro instructed, "Remember you're not wearing your armor. Keith, scout out angles of approach. I want two ways out of here and a rendezvous point in case we get separated."

"Right." Keith nodded.

"Pidge, surveillance?"

"I piggybacked on their system while we were in the lobby," Pidge said, typing away on her wrist interface, "I'll set up some of my own cameras and we'll be all set."

"Good work. Hunk, you inspect the cabin. Make sure there aren't any surprises." Hunk gave his own salute, and Shiro glanced down at the map in his hands, "I'll check out the route to the hot spring."

"You just want to beat us there." Lance accused, though the grin on his face took the sting out of the words.

Shiro smiled back, "A little bit," He admitted, then sobered, "You know the drill. Everybody stay on the comms and if you see something you don't like, speak up, even if it seems minor."

With that they broke off to complete their respective tasks.

Keith and Shiro walked together for a ways, until they reached a fork in the narrow trail. Keith headed down the one side, overgrown with blue saplings and purple creepers, while Shiro followed the better maintained trail, absently keeping an eye out for potential ambush spots as he listened to his team chatter.

 _"Is anyone else worried about the fact that we're locking this place down?"_ Hunk asked.

 _"Not particularly."_ Pidge said.

 _"Really? Nothing about what we're doing right now says uncontrollable paranoia to you? This is supposed to be a vacation and we're treating it like day one of a mission."_ _  
_

Lance snickered, _"Operation: Have Fun is a go."_ _  
_

_"I'm being serious!"_ Hunk protested. _  
_

_"So am I! It's not like any of us could go to bed without making sure that nothing's going to kill us in our sleep. Doesn't matter if we're in the castle or on a mission."_ _  
_

_"Joke’s on you, I don't sleep on away missions."_ _  
_

_"Oh that's really healthy."_ _  
_

"Guys." Shiro admonished, "Let's focus. We can worry about our mental health after we're sure that nothing's going to attack us while our guard is down."

Silence followed that statement.

Pidge was the first one to break it, _"That actually made sense to me."_ She said thoughtfully.

 _"We're never going to fit in with normal people ever again."_ Hunk groaned.

 _"Like that's news."_ Keith snorted.

Shiro rolled his eyes, rounding a bend in the trail that brought the outbuilding into view. "Status?"

 _"Just about finished on my end."_ Keith said.

 _"Same here."_ Pidge added.

 _"Same,"_ Hunk said, _"Umm, fair warning? These rooms don't have any sound proofing worth mentioning."_ _  
_

Which meant that if one of them had a nightmare the others would know instantly. Damn. "We'll deal with it." He said firmly, kicking off his boots out of sheer habit as ducked through the entrance, "Lance?"

 _"Dude, I might just stay up here, it's really pretty,"_ Lance said, _"I don't think we've been anywhere with an orange sky before."_ _  
_

_"Teuli,"_ Hunk suggested.

 _"Mm, that was more pink."_ _  
_

_"What about Klarxib?"_ Keith offered.

 _"That place was literally on fire, it doesn't count."_ _  
_

Shiro snorted softly, making his way through the changing rooms, out to the walled-in pool in the back.

The wide, steaming pool without any kind of dividing screen. Oops.

"If anyone has an issue with coed bathing, speak now." He said, walking around the edge and dipping his left hand into deliciously hot water.

 _"Nah,"_ Pidge said, _"Everyone brought bathing suits, right?"_

 _"Does it even count anymore if it's just us?"_ Lance wondered.

 _"Speak for yourself."_ Keith said drily.

 _"Shiro, you okay with it?"_ Hunk asked, just a touch too nonchalant to be completely casual.

Shiro had gotten a little more relaxed about showing his skin to the other paladins over the years. Nothing like this, but . . . it wasn't like they didn't know he had scars.

It wasn't like they didn't have scars of their own.

"It's fine." He decided.

* * *

 

  
It _was_ fine, he told himself later that evening, lingering in the changing room.  Everyone else had gone out to the hot spring already, they'd start to worry if he didn't join them soon.

He stared down at mismatched hands, wincing at how tattered his flesh hand looked compared to the metal Galra arm. This was harder than he’d thought.

He didn’t have to do this. His team wouldn’t think any less of him, he knew. He could put his shirt back on, cover up again, and just--

He went outside before he lost his nerve.

Lance looked up from where he was lounging on the edge of the hot spring, the lantern light catching on the blaster burns and shrapnel scars scattered across his chest. He grinned, “Looking good there Shiro.”

“We were beginning to think you’d ditched us and went to party somewhere else.” Pidge called from where she was sitting on Hunk’s back. Her cybernetic eyes, no longer hidden behind sunglasses, shone an eerie yellow. Hunk was sprawled out on a towel, head pillowed comfortably on his forearms while Pidge kneaded at his shoulders.

Some of the tension in his gut uncoiled. “What, and miss all the fun?” Shiro joked. He slid into the hot spring with a sigh of relief. This felt _good._

Keith, almost completely submerged, opened his eyes at the rush of displaced water. He gave Shiro an accusing look, rendered more villainous by the scar running down across his right eye.

“Sorry,” Shiro smiled at him, “You having fun?”

Keith blinked slowly, then nodded and closed his eyes again, sinking a little further into faintly steaming water.

“Wait!” Lance called, “Wait wait wait, before you get comfy.” He sloshed across the pool toward them with a. . . . Shiro actually wasn’t sure what it was but it looked like a coconut. Lance shoved it at him. “Here.”

Shiro eyed the straw and the little umbrella sticking out the top, and looked back at Lance, “Is this alcohol?”

“Pretty sure,” Lance grinned at Shiro’s raised eyebrow, “Come on, we’re on vacation.”

True. Shiro shrugged and took a sip as Lance waited impatiently, “Well?” He demanded.

“Not bad,” Shiro handed it back, “A little sweet for my taste, but not bad.”

“Where did you find alcohol?” Hunk asked. Pidge had finished her massage and splashed down next to Keith, who glared at her evilly. Hunk came to sit on the rock behind him, his legs bracketing Shiro’s shoulders. He started rubbing up and down Shiro’s spine, and Shiro relaxed, leaning into the touch.

“There was some in the space fridge,” Lance pouted at Hunk, “Don’t I get pets too?”

“Lance,” Keith groaned, sitting up so he wasn’t quite as much underwater, “Can you be quiet for ten consecutive minutes please?”

“But it’s not fair,” Lance whined, “I want a massage too.”

“I’ll give you a massage if you give me your space coconut.” Pidge chirped, swimming over next to him.

“Deal,” Lance handed his drink off for Pidge to finish off and turned around. He hesitated when Pidge audibly cracked her knuckles, “Please be gentle.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Oh my God you two, get a room.”

“Aww, Keith, you feeling left out?”

Shiro huffed a laugh and tuned them out, the banter familiar and comfortable.

Hunk traced lines on Shiro’s back, following old scars, “Do you remember how you got these?” He asked softly, his fingers gentle on Shiro’s skin.

Shiro hummed, “Not those ones, no.”

“Good,” Hands squeezed his shoulders briefly, “You have too many of these, man.”

“You too.” Shiro caught one of Hunk’s hands, frowning at the multitude of old cuts and electrical burns.

“Hazards of the job,” Hunk said, smiling.

Shiro nodded, tracing a white starburst on Hunk’s palm.

“Hey Shiro,” Lance said, and dumped Pidge unceremoniously into Shiro’s lap.

“Lance!” Pidge yelped, as Shiro instinctively moved to hold her out of the water.

“Be careful.” Hunk scolded, reaching out to wipe some of the water away from Pidge’s eyes before they could short out.

“Sorry,” Lance said, his grin sheepish under Shiro’s warning look, “Take care of her for me for a second will ya? Keith promised to stop whining if I got him a drink.”

“It’s not whining,” Keith grumbled, “Tell him I wasn’t whining Hunk.”

“Keith wasn’t whining.” Hunk repeated obediently.

Lance gasped dramatically, miming a stab through the heart.

Keith splashed him, “I wasn’t whining, but I do need a drink.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going,” Lance heaved his way out of the pool making his way over to a cooler he had brought with him from the cabin, “So demanding.”

Pidge blinked at Shiro, “I expect head rubs now.” She informed him.

Shiro chuckled, and brought up his natural hand to run through her hair. She sighed happily, her eyes slit shut like a cat.

This close, the angry red scars fanning out around her eyes stood out in sharp relief.

“Do they still hurt?” Keith asked, drifting closer, “Your eyes, I mean.”

“Not so much anymore,” Pidge murmured, “Feels weird sometimes. Really weird. But I can see ultraviolet now if I want, so that’s cool.”

“It was hard finding you like that.” Hunk said quietly, “For a second, I really thought you were--”

“Dead?” Pidge snorted, “Nah. Takes more than the likes of Haggar to finish me off.” She went quiet, “Not much more though.”

Shiro’s arm tightened around her. He still had nightmares about it, and knew the others did too. Storming Haggar’s lair and finding Pidge strapped to a lab table, her eyes gone . . . .

“Hey,” Lance set the drinks he was carrying on the ground, wrapping his arms as far as he could around Hunk, Shiro and Pidge. “It’s okay. We got you out.”

“And you risked Voltron to do it,” Pidge shot back, “You should have waited for backup. That’s what the Alliance is for, remember? So we don’t have to fight whole armies on our own anymore.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Keith said, though the way he pressed in close belied the harshness of his words. He smoothed away a curl of wet hair from her face, “We weren’t going to leave you there one tick longer than we had to.”

“So instead you went charging half-cocked into a battle with the worst odds we’ve faced since the first year of the war.” Pidge snapped, “All of you would have died if Allura hadn’t shown up when she did with the fleet. I mean, why do you think I let myself get caught in the first place? It was to give you idiots a chance to escape and get help so you could keep _saving the universe_ \--”

“We did,” Shiro said calmly, “We got out, we regrouped, we told the princess what had happened. Then we went back for you.” He ran his thumb across her cheekbone, mindful of the scars, “We were always coming back for you.”

Pidge glared at him, her eyes molten yellow. Then her shoulders dropped, her face crumpled, and she buried her head in his shoulder.

“Hey,” Hunk said, petting her head, her back, anywhere he could reach.

“We got you, it’s okay,” Lance whispered, “It’s okay, Pidge.”

“I knew you were coming back,” Pidge said, her voice thick, “I _knew_. But she did too, and she--” She let out a long, shuddering breath.

“I know,” Shiro said, “I know.”

“We got you out," Keith said, resting a hand on her shoulder, “And Haggar’s not going to hurt anyone ever again.”

“Yeah,” Pidge lifted her head, and gave them a tremulous smile, “Thanks for having my back.”

They stayed like that for a while, holding each other, and breathing. Reminding themselves that, in spite of everything, they were still alive.

Lance pulled back, swiping at his eyes, and handed out the drinks he had brought, one for each of them. “I’d like to propose a toast,” He announced, “To us, for surviving all the crap the universe has thrown at us.”

“To teamwork.” Hunk said, holding up his own drink.

“To living longer than expected.” Keith added.

“To everyone we lost along the way.” Pidge said.

Shiro smiled at them-- his team, his paladins-- and raised his cup. “To Voltron.”


End file.
